


Similarities

by caligulasaquarium5



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Allister's past is not canon, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, child neglect mention, death mention, just a short drabble I wrote
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22033726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caligulasaquarium5/pseuds/caligulasaquarium5
Summary: Bede gets lost in Glimwood Tangle on the way to train with Opal, and finds someone unexpectedly similar to him along the way.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Onion | Allister
Comments: 4
Kudos: 126





	Similarities

The leaves crunched under Bede's feet as he stomped through the forest, angry mumbling drowned out by the chirps and whistles of wild pokemon, pink and blue uniform lit up by the occasional glowing mushroom he passed. He _knew_ it was a bad idea to walk through the Glimwood Tangle alone, but of course it seemed that Opal had other ideas, having told him to meet her at Ballonea and racing off too fast for him to catch up( _how in the world did that old bat run so fast anyway?!_ ). And, of course, Bede had gotten lost. His rotomphone had ran out of battery shortly before he realized he was lost, so using that was out of the question unless a friendly electric pokemon popped up somewhere. This was truly the second worst day of his life.

Bede groaned, looking down at the Ponyta walking beside him. "Rarity, can you sense anyone around here that could help us?"

Rarity chirped, lifting her head and using her psychic powers to scan the area. After a moment, she opened her eyes, head whipping around toward a bush a ways to the left of them. Bede stopped walking, looking as well. "What is it, girl?"

The bushes began to rustle. Bede's eyes widened and he took a step back, grabbing one of his pokeballs out of instinct. Please don't be a dark type please don't be a dark type…

A shape emerged from the bush and Bede screamed and threw the pokeball.

_"O-ow!!"_

Bede blinked and looked up. In front of the bushes, rubbing his head, stood a small boy dressed in purple and black, dark hair framing the mask on his face. "Wh- _Allister?!"_

Allister looked up, freezing for a moment. "Wh…Bede? Um…I'm sorry, did I get your name wrong…?"

"No-you didn't g- _what are you doing here?!"_

Allister clasped his hands together, looking down. "I saw a Sinistea and I…I wanted to catch it…so I followed it into the woods but...then I realized I forgot my rotomphone and I couldn't find my way back…"

Bede groaned again, smacking his forehead. "Oh, for Arceus sakes, are you kidding me?! The one other human in this forest with me and he's too bloody stupid to bring his phone!!"

Bede turned and kicked a mushroom as Allister stepped back, head hung low in shame. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Just-whatever. Whatever. It's fine. This can work." Bede turned back around, pointing an accusing finger at the gym leader. "You. You're a popular person, right? People will be looking for you. If I stick with you, I can get found too, and in return I'll protect you until we're found."

"I don't…need you to protect me…"

But Bede had already stopped listening, continuing his angry march through the forest, now with Allister's timid footsteps following behind.

~~

How big was this bloody forest?! The two had been walking for nearly two hours and there was still no sign of civilization, just more trees and mushrooms and the occasional spooked Impidimp. Bede's angry stomping had calmed to simple footsteps now, eyes scanning the trees for lights of buildings and the shapes of people.

"……Bede…?"

The gym leader in training sighed, stopping and turning around. Allister and Rarity were lagging behind him, looking very tired. "Can we camp for a while…? My feet are really starting to hurt…"

Bede rubbed his temples, exhaling sharply through his nose. "...Fine. Fine, it may be easier for someone to find us if we stay in one place."

It only took a few minutes to set up the tents and send out their pokemon, Bede sitting down as he watched his own pokemon play with the four ghost types. They all got along so quickly, despite not knowing eachother in the slightest… 

"...Bede?"

Bede yelped and swiveled around to see Allister sitting next to him, putting a hand over his heart. "Shit-would it hurt to warn me next time??" Before Allister could speak, he continued. "Whatever-what do you want?"

Allister was quiet for so long that Bede was about to ask if he had anything to say at all before the small boy spoke.

"...Is there someone looking for you?"

"What?"

"Earlier...you said people would be looking for me...but the way you said it……is anyone looking for you? Chairman Rose, Oleana...your parents?"

The following silence was as tense and painful as the stab to Bede's heart. He suddenly couldn't look at Allister, one hand gripping far too tightly at the grass to be comfortable. The smaller boy seemed to immediately realize his mistake, shoulders sagging and one hand slowly reaching for Bede. "I...I'm sorry...are they not aro-"

"My parents abandoned me. I'm an orphan, Allister. Everyone knows that. It's on my league card."

Allister paused for a long moment. "...I didn't know anything about you until...until Chairman Rose-"

"Disqualified me, right?!" Bede popped, teeth grit and shoulders hunched up to his ears. "That's all anyone ever seems to bloody know about me now!! 'Look, there's that orphan who got disqualified by Rose', 'Look, there's that failure who destroyed an ancient ruin just to get some stupid wishing stars', I'm _SICK OF IT!!!"_

He stood up, beginning to pace back and forth. "I _wanted_ people to know I was an orphan, I wanted them to know how far I'd come, how I was so amazing because Rose had chosen _me_ over anyone else, but now I...I wish people would stop mentioning that stupid nob every time they so much as hear my name!! This is all my parents' fault-if they hadn't just up and decided they didn't want me, I never would have met the chairman in the first place! They're probably out there watching somewhere, laughing at me right now... _I hate them!!!_ None of this would have happened if they hadn't been such assholes!!"

"......Bede…"

"That's all parents do to their children!! If they had just loved me, if they had just treated me like anything more than a broken toy they could just throw away, I wouldn't be stuck here with you!!"

"Bede, _stop…"_

"I wouldn't feel like I'm being ripped apart every time I hear someone mention their parents, I wouldn't feel like I need to prove myself to everyone I meet to keep them from abandoning me again, _I wouldn't just be the sad, lonely little boy who's shitty, horrible parents didn't fucking love him enough to EVEN LOOK AT HIM ANYMORE-"_

__**"AT LEAST YOUR PARENTS ARE STILL ALIVE!!!!!"** _ _

__

__

...The Glimwood Tangle was silent. Even the wild pokemon in the brush stopped chirping, the trees stopped rustling, the wind stopped blowing.

Bede turned to look down at Allister, who was shaking hard, both hands clamped over the mouth hole of his mask. There were so many words Bede still wanted to say, but none of them were reaching his mouth. The silence dragged on, until he could finally speak. "...Allister…? Your-"

Before he could say more, the gym leader had scrambled to his feet and darted into the forest, kicking up leaves behind him in a blind dash.

"H-hey-!!" Bede called, but he was already gone. The blonde boy turned to the watching pokemon, pointing at two of them, the current situation forgotten. "Rarity, try to track him! Gengar, show me where he would go!"

Normally the ghost pokemon wouldn't have listened, but in the moment it nodded, racing into the forest alongside Rarity with Bede hot at their heels.

Luckily it didn't take them too long to find him. With both pokemon searching, they quickly found Allister, huddled behind a tree, curled into a ball. Bede sent Gengar back to the camp and slowly walked around the tree, wincing when he heard the quiet sobs shaking the boy's small frame. "...Allister? What was that?"

He didn't respond, flinching as Bede kneeled down next to him. "...I...just talk to me...what did you mean by that?"

There was another long silence. Then Allister hiccupped, slipping a hand under his mask to wipe his face.

"...M-my parents loved me...they were the reason I love ghost pokemon so much, and they did everything they could to c-care for me and love me and support me...u-until...I came home one day and...th-they were…...they were d-dead...some people broke into my house a-and killed them…"

Oh. Bede flinched. He looked at the ground, then at his hands, then back at Allister. "......I…...I'm sorry. My parents didn't love me, but...I'm sorry for making it seem like yours didn't."

Allister didn't move. Then he slowly looked up, sniffling a bit. "...I'm sorry for bringing up the chairman...I should have known it was a sore subject after what happened…"

Bede sighed. "...I hope they find us soon…"

...There were arms wrapped around him. Bede blinked, then looked down at Allister, who'd sat up and hugged him. His arms shook for a moment.

Then he slowly hugged back, body relaxing as the comforting sounds of the forest began again.

…

_"Allister?! Bede?!"_

Both boys jolted up at the shout ringing through the trees, hurrying to their feet. That sounded like…

"Milo!!"

Bede turned around just as Milo, Nessa, Kabu, and Bea came rushing through the trees, following Rarity. Allister ran to them, slinging his arms around Milo and laughing as the farmer picked him up.

"Allister!! Arceus, I was so worried about you!! Are you two ok?"

"We're fine, Bede kept me safe…!"

Bede felt a sheepish flush rise to his cheeks and he coughed, turning away. "I mean-it's not like the pokemon in here are all that strong anyway…"

"I'm just glad you two are ok, let's get out of here."

"Hang on a second, farmer boy, how do _you_ all plan on getting out of here?"

"Oh, don't worry, Nessa called a Corviknight Taxi to follow us here!"

Sure enough, there was a loud squawk and the giant bird in question lowered down through a gap in the trees, basket settling down for the group to hop into.

Bede gathered his pokemon up along with Allister, and took one last look at the forest before climbing in with the others.

~~

"Apologies for being so late, Ms. Opal, I got lost in the woods on the way here."

The old woman only chuckled, turning as Bede closed the door to the gym behind him. "Not to worry, dear, I already knew you would. Tell Allister I said hello sometime, would you?"

"You... _what?"_

"Come now, we must make up for lost time and begin your training!"

Bede stared as Opal walked further into the gym, shaking his head. There were some mysteries he felt he'd never figure out.


End file.
